Hearing Sullivan's words, Luna looked up and said, "I don't care what other people think. In my heart, The Quibbler is the best magazine in the world."
Xenophilius turned to his daughter, his eyes full of love. Ever since Luna's mother had died in a failed spell when she was nine, the two of them had only had each other.
Luna trusted her father completely. Whatever he told her, she believed without question. That was why she had grown more and more like him—more eccentric, more isolated.
The Quibbler was Xenophilius's pride and joy, but it sold terribly. Most wizards treated it like a joke and never bothered to buy it.
Watching the serious look on his daughter's face, Xenophilius could already picture her recommending The Quibbler to every classmate she met. And those kids—who had only ever heard secondhand rumors from their parents—would probably laugh at her and shut her out.
If Xenophilius had one weakness, it was Luna. For her, he would do anything, even bend his own principles.
"Mr. Su," he asked, "if The Quibbler went on the Magic Phone, would it really pull in more readers?"
Sullivan shrugged. "Sorry, Mr. Lovegood. I can't promise that. Right now there are only a handful of papers and magazines on the network."
"If it's a paid subscription, sales probably won't jump much. But if it's free, people will click on it when they're bored."
Xenophilius didn't ask the obvious question about how anyone would make money. He had already seen the ads running in Today's Headlines. As long as enough people read it, shops would pay to advertise.
After a long internal struggle, Xenophilius finally gave in. Even if it only brought a few more young wizards to the magazine—even if it gave Luna one more friend—he was willing to try.
He called out to Sullivan, who had already turned to leave. "Mr. Su, I accept your terms."
The two men added each other on FlyMessage and agreed to handle the formal contract later. As for the app interface, Fred and George's first version was perfect. They would just need to change the name.
After the Lovegoods walked away, Sullivan stayed hidden and watched students pass through the wall in every awkward way imaginable.
A few minutes later he spotted another familiar pair—Peter Zhang and his daughter Cho Chang, the same Chinese father and daughter he had met in Diagon Alley. But their faces were tight with grief. They stood near the entrance talking for a long time before finally hugging and crying.
Sullivan wondered what had happened. Since they shared the same heritage, he wouldn't mind helping, but now wasn't the time to step out. He would keep an eye on Cho once term started.
Soon the Weasley family arrived—eight people in a noisy cluster, dragging trunks of every size. Arthur kept fussing over Ginny's luggage, terrified she had forgotten something.
Harry and Ron brought up the rear. Harry had already gone through the barrier once last year, so he looked relaxed. He had no idea someone was waiting to stop him.
"Teemo, any sign of him?" Sullivan typed in the small group chat.
"Yes, Master. About a hundred meters behind Harry and Ron. He's under a Disillusionment Charm. I can feel a faint trace of house-elf magic."
"Can he sense you?" Sullivan asked. Dobby didn't know anyone was coming for him, but Sullivan wanted to be careful.
"Don't worry, Master. As long as I don't use magic, he won't notice me."
"Perfect. I'm guessing the little elf will wait until everyone else goes through, then cast a spell to block Harry from the platform. When he does, catch him—don't let him get away."
"Understood, Master!"
Sullivan kept typing. "Lupin, keep an eye on Harry Potter in case he can't get through and does something stupid. And be ready with a Confundus Charm to cover Teemo if needed."
"Got it, boss!"
Everything was set. The Weasleys began filing through the barrier one by one—Percy first, then the twins, then Arthur and Molly flanking Ginny.
Finally only Harry and Ron remained. The two boys grinned at each other, then charged the wall with their trolleys.
Bang!
Both boys flew backward and crashed to the floor. Muggle passersby stared. A kind station attendant even came over to check on them.
In a nearby corner, Dobby slammed his own head against the wall several times. "Dobby is a bad elf," he muttered. "Harry Potter was good to Dobby, and Dobby made him fall. Dobby deserves to be punished.
"But Hogwarts is dangerous. Dobby must stop Harry Potter from going back. I'm sorry, Harry Potter. Dobby has to do this!"
He raised his hand to snap his fingers and return to Malfoy Manor. He had only slipped out while Lucius was busy seeing Draco off. If he was caught, he was finished.
At that exact moment, another small hand grabbed Dobby's wrist. A house-elf in a crisp, elegant tailcoat appeared right in front of him.
Dobby had never seen a house-elf dressed so finely. The elf's skin was smooth, his eyes bright and sharp. For a second Dobby forgot to fight back.
The newcomer was Teemo. He gripped both of Dobby's hands and smiled. "Got you."
Dobby finally snapped out of it. He didn't know who this elf was, but he knew he had to escape—fast. He tried to snap his fingers again and Disapparate. King's Cross was far too crowded for a fight; the Muggles would see everything.
Teemo had no intention of letting him go. When it came to stopping another house-elf's Apparition, Teemo had plenty of experience.
In Dobby's vision, a shiny bald head rushed straight at him. Crack! Teemo's forehead slammed into Dobby's with full force.
Dobby staggered, head spinning. He tried to pull away, but Teemo yanked him forward again.
Crack! Another headbutt. This one should have knocked Dobby out cold, but years of self-punishment had given him a thick skull. The second blow only cleared his daze.
Dobby waited for Teemo's third strike, then kicked out hard, sending the other elf flying backward.